Friday, January 1, 2016

Look at the two men involved in this match. It’s almost a
guarantee that you are going to get a great contest. Most of the time they meet
it is indeed great, which is what I would consider this encounter, though it
wasn’t their best. Earlier in the year, Kazuchika Okada ended the IWGP
Heavyweight Title run of AJ Styles. Styles pinned Okada in a six man tag in
August, setting up this rematch. They were given a lot of time, 30:15 to be
exact, and it was similar to a lot of Okada matches. They tend to start a bit
slow. I’m not saying they’re bad by any means, but he starts slow before
building to the second half, where things just get nuts. The Bullet Club got
involved, and I get that they’re heels, but it was a bit much here. That’s part
of why I love the match at Dominion so much more. There, the Bullet Club
interference was cut down. Of course, the finishing sequence was a thing of
beauty here, with Okada reeling off three Rainmakers to retain the gold. The
chemistry between these two is among the best in New Japan, almost always
delivering in spades. ****

Truth be told, 2015 should have been the year of Kota
Ibushi. His performances certainly say that it was, but New Japan was too shy
to pull the trigger on him. He failed to win the Intercontinental Title at
Wrestle Kingdom and the Heavyweight Title at Invasion Attack. While the NEVER
Title isn’t on that level, I think it’s perfect for him. Ibushi is not only a
freak of an athlete, but he loves the hard hitting style. Hard hitting matches
have kind of defined the NEVER Title for the past year or so. Togi Makabe is
someone that I like but don’t love, however this was my favorite match of his
all year. They were given the main event slot and did well with it, They
brought a table into play, which isn’t seen often in NJPW, as Ibushi double
stomped him on it outside. Ibushi countered the spider German by landing on his
feet because he’s such a damn good athlete. Makabe adjusted, changing up to a
spider dragon suplex instead, before hitting the King Kong knee drop to retain
at 18:41. Not Ibushi’s best match of the year, but another shining example of
why this dude should be near the top of New Japan. ****

58. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens – WWE Money in the Bank 6/14/15

The one thing missing from the incredible first match
between John Cena and Kevin Owens was a hot crowd. In this, their second of
three encounters, the Columbus crowd delivered where the Corpus Christi fans
didn’t. Cena was in unfamiliar territory here, losing the first match of a feud
completely cleanly. Owens seemed to have his number, even doing Cena’s own
“five moves of doom” to him after countering the original attempt. Cena was his
usual resilient self, refusing to stay down. However, Owens was doing the same
thing. John Cena grew frustrated with the official before realizing he had to
dig deep and try some new things to defeat Owens. He would counter the popup
powerbomb with a hurricanrana and even bust out Yoshi Tonic, though it didn’t
look too great. The fact that some of what they did wasn’t as crisp as it
should have been and an overreliance on finisher kicks outs and near falls kept
this from being better than their first match to me. Cena won with an Attitude
Adjustment at 19:23 and showed respect after the bell. Owens wanted none of
that and attacked, hitting an apron powerbomb and leaving with both the NXT and
US Titles. ****

57. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax
7/24/15

Two guys that I became huge fans of during the G1 Climax
this year were Katsuyori Shibata and Tetsuya Naito. Despite not finishing with
tons of points, both guys were standouts for different reasons. Shibata’s hard
hitting style and penchant for great outings made me a fan, while Naito’s
tremendous heel persona, combined with really good matches, was just so highly
entertaining. On the third night of the tournament, they faced off and proved
to be a great combination. Naito is known for coming out in a full suit and
stalling but Shibata was having none of that, attacking quickly. It forced
Naito to work the first few minutes with his suit still on. When he turned
things around, he looked to neutralize Shibata’s vicious kicks by targeting the
leg. Their back and forth was pretty great, but Naito made a crucial mistake
late. He decided to slap Shibata, which fueled a Shibata barrage of strikes. He
locked in the sleeper hold and used a Penalty Kick to get his first two points
of the G1 after 12:11. In other words, don’t piss off Shibata by slapping him
or he’ll kick your ass. They would have a rematch in September that didn’t
quite reach this level. ****

One of the very best things about Lucha Underground (and
there were a lot) was the dynamic between Angelico, Ivelisse and Son of Havoc.
After weeks of tension and even some matches, they were forced into a Trios
team by Dario Cueto. During the tournament to crown the first champions, they
had issues but made it to the finals and won. Or so they thought. Dario
announced they would have one more match, right after the finals, against the
Crew and it would be “Anything Goes.” Now, this isn’t the greatest brawl ever,
it isn’t the spottiest of spotfests and, at just 6:41, it is the shortest match
on this list. However, it makes this list because of the story and emotion
involved. Ivelisse and her bum leg was perfect prey for the Crew, who took out
Havoc and Angelico. It wasn’t until Havoc hit a moonsault outside that things
started to turn around. Still, with Ivelisse alone inside against two opponents
and Angelico near the top of the Temple, hope looked lost. That was until
Angelico leapt from the top of the Temple, in one of the coolest spots ever, to
save Ivelisse. Ivelisse then got a weapon, took it to the Crew and her boys hit
stereo high flying moves to become the first ever Trios Champions. ****

55. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Rusev – WWE Raw 7/13/15

Even though he wasn’t directly involved in this, the John
Cena US Title Open Challenge was responsible for another great match here. A
week after a fantastic battle with Cesaro, Cena awaited a new challenger. Rusev
answered, looking to reignite their shitty feud. Kevin Owens interrupted even
though he had a shot in six nights. Cesaro came out next, looking for a rematch,
leading to a brawl between the three. It turned into a number one contender’s
match, where the winner would face Cena right after. What followed was 24:02 of
some awesome action. They made good use of the Triple Threat style, bringing
out some really cool spots (specifically Cesaro hitting a double German on both
opponents). Owens would walk out near the end because he had an upcoming shot
and decided he didn’t need this. The final few minutes between Cesaro and Rusev
were tremendous, including a great moment where Rusev reached the ropes in the
sharpshooter, only to have to pull Cesaro to the floor because rope breaks
don’t work in No DQ matches. Rusev ended up hitting a superkick to win, in an
anti-climactic finish. Cena was supposed to be the face but considering the
effort Rusev put forth while Cena gladly sat on commentary (doing an
uncharacteristically bad job), Rusev was the sympathetic one. That match would
last only five minutes and end via DQ. Still, the one preceding it was great. ****

Having the unenviable task of following a spectacular NXT
Women’s Championship match, I think this main event more than delivered. Finn
Balor and Kevin Owens had two prior matches, the first not being too great and
the second being my favorite encounter of theirs. This lies in the middle, but
closer to the second one. In front of the largest crowd ever for an NXT show,
this could be considered the biggest match in their history. I appreciated that
it was similar to the really good Ambrose/Rollins ladder match from a few
months earlier in that it didn’t need to rely on tons of big spots. For most of
the 21:37, Owens beat the hell out of Balor, doing whatever it took to best the
unbeaten “Demon” and win back his prize. Balor, under the “Demon” paint, was
able to dig down deep and persevere, surviving a lot, including the apron
powerbomb that nearly killed Sami Zayn and even took out John Cena for a bit. When
they did bring out the bigger spots, it was near the end, and felt very earned.
The image of Finn hitting the Coup de Grace off the ladder before going back
and retrieving the gold is something to behold. This would be Owens’ last NXT
match and he went out with a bang. ****

AJ Styles’ nickname as the “Phenomenal One” is something that he lives
up to more now than ever. Ever since his run in the G1 Climax 24, he’s just
been delivering in pretty much every outing. Here, against a great performer
like Kota Ibushi, Styles knew he had to avoid the high flying attack and looked
for his calf killer submission. The threat of the Styles Clash, which is
considered such a dangerous finish in New Japan, was always looming, but Ibushi
avoided it. The Clash is up there with Okada’s Rainmaker and Fale’s Bad Luck
Fall among the most protected finishes in NJPW. There were multiple moments
during the 27:01 runtime where you could see just how well each guy had the
other scouted. Ibushi countered the calf cutter into an inside cradle at one
point. He also tried a top rope rana, only for Styles to block it and try the
second rope Styles Clash that won him his Wrestle Kingdom debut earlier in the
year. Ibushi blocked it and set up for his gorgeous Phoenix Splash finisher.
Now, the Bullet Club interference was mostly kept to a minimum, which is always
for the best, but Kenny Omega got on the apron to distract Ibushi in the end.
That gave Styles the time to get up and catch the Phoenix Splash, in midair,
into a Styles Clash. That was easily the best finish to any match all year
long. It was another moment to solidify Styles as a top heel and remind
everyone that Ibushi should be a major player in the company. ****

Another mediocre WWE Pay-Per-View that had one standout
match. The opening match featured the New Day defending their WWE Tag Team
Titles against both the Lucha Dragons and the Usos. Similar to TLC the year
before, we were treated to a great ladder match that kicked things off. It was
a bit messy at first, but they settled into bringing the big spots quickly. Not
only did they do the typical ladder spots we’re used to, but they managed to do
some new ones. Big E had a great moment when he basically bench pressed the
ladder with both Lucha Dragons on it. Kalisto stole the show by hitting Salida
Del Sol off the ladder and through another bridged ladder. That was honestly,
the best spot I’ve seen all year, regardless of promotion. It was absolutely
insane. Major props to both Kalisto and Jey Uso for taking the spot, especially
considering Jey just coming off the injured list. Xavier Woods was golden on
commentary, before getting involved himself because it’s NO DQ! As Kalisto
neared the belts, Woods threw his trombone at him. This opened the door for New
Day to retrieve the belt and retain at 17:56. Another great ladder match in a
year for really good ones. ****¼

51. Kazuchika Okada vs. Roderick Strong – ROH Field of Honor
8/22/15

The IWGP Heavyweight Champion visited Ring of Honor to
face Mr. ROH. The kind of match that you expect when two companies work
together. There were no titles on the line or any pre-existing feuds, it was
just two of the best competitors on the planet facing off to see who is better.
Things started out slowly, with both guys getting a feel for each other. Roderick
Strong channeled his PWG heel persona, getting vicious with a back suplex on
the guardrail. Strong did his homework and had the Rainmaker scouted
excellently, countering it multiple times. That forced Kazuchika Okada to dig
deep and bring out not one, but two Tombstones. Everything that these two men
did, as usual, was just so crisp and well executed. When Okada finally hit the
Rainmaker, after four or five tries, it felt extremely earned, like he was just
in a grueling match. The match went 17:23 and really got going once they passed
the feeling out process, but even with that, everything was just done so well. ****¼